ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A Ferguson man robbed someone he met on Facebook Marketplace by promising to sell him a video game console.
The robbery took place on the afternoon of Nov. 27, 2023, outside the Mobil gas station in the 14000 block of East Highway 67 in West Alton, according to a Ferguson Police Department probable cause statement.
The victim told police he’d arranged to buy a PlayStation 5 from someone on the Facebook Marketplace. The victim agreed to pay $300 in cash for the gaming system.
The victim was parked outside the gas station when a white Dodge SUV with Texas plate SJK5246 pulled up next to him. An individual got out of the front passenger seat and walked over to speak with the victim.
During the conversation, the man told the victim, “You know what it is,” and showed the victim he had a handgun in his front pants pocket. The victim handed over his $300 and the armed man got back in the front seat of the Dodge SUV and left.
Investigators reviewed an image of the truck to obtain the license plate number. They traced the vehicle to a Florissant man.
Police learned the man had an active traffic warrant and took him into custody. The man told police he picked up his friend “Lou” and another person to bring them to the gas station that day. He said he was unaware that a robbery had happened and knew nothing about the PlayStation 5.
The man gave the police Lou’s cell phone number and other information on his whereabouts.
Police identified Lou as Louis Dukes and confirmed his phone number and address matched what they’d been told.
In early January 2024, police received Dukes’ cell phone records and determined that his phone was near the gas station at the time of the robbery. Later that month, police found Dukes’ Facebook profile and saw that he was still attempting to sell a PlayStation 5 on Facebook Marketplace.
Dukes was arrested a short time later.
The St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Dukes with armed criminal action and first-degree robbery. He was jailed on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
